Mental Health - What It’s Really Like To Get Hypnotherapy

It’s time to bust some myths! In the past 10 years, Hypnotherapy has transformed since the days of Paul McKenna and the TV stage ‘Hypnotism’ of the 90’s. There are no swinging pendulums or pocket watches.

In fact, Sports Hypnotherapy is currently part of the England Teams integrative approach to the performance wellbeing of the athletes. Most elite athletes will use hypnotherapy or mind’s eye visualisation as part of their mental skills training.

Hypnotherapy is also used in the NHS, recommended by NICE guidelines for the treatment of IBS. Prof Whorwell has been leading the Hypnotherapy frontiers at Wythenshawe hospital with great success for the past 20 years. His studies of imagining the gut as a river hypnotherapy reported a 71% success rate even after 5 years post-treatment.

As a TALKING therapy, hypnotherapy still can be misunderstood and has a long way to go to be considered mainstream, the vast majority of us have only been exposed to the idea of it through tv and other forms of media; whether that’s one of Darren Brown’s popular shows, or Paul Mckenna and his famous “I can make you thin” diet books.

However, there are a number of Modern Hypnotherapists leading the way to bring this very effective therapy and wellbeing support to this generation, athletes and performance in the workplace. Chloe Brotheridge, author of the Anxiety Solution, and our very own Ambassador Natalie Pennicotte Collier are two of the most successful and skilled modern Hypnotherapists in London and the wellbeing scene right now.

Going to a qualified, registered hypnotherapy practitioner session is actually very different to what the misconceptions would lead you to expect, it can be a great tool for treating a multitude of mental health issues as well as generally improving your wellness… lifelong phobias can be cured in only a few sessions and it is also very effective for managing Anxiety, Confidence and Self Esteem issues.

What is Modern Hypnotherapy

Drawing on recent discoveries and ideas from Evolutionary Psychology, Positive Psychology, Cognitive Theory and Neuro-Linguistic Programming, good therapists will have developed their own method, using modern hypnosis to provide a framework for therapy alongside CBT and MP3 recordings.

Hypnotherapy is the most effective therapy used to reprogram the subconscious mind, by putting you in a relaxed state that makes you more receptive to behavioural change or limiting beliefs ion your mind.

Your first session will usually involve a discussion with your therapist about any issues you’re having and what you would like to address. From this, they’ll work with you to come up with a treatment plan and will decide on the techniques that will be best for you.

Depending on the reason for therapy sessions can be between 1 – 6 sessions. All good therapists will consult and take time to understand your needs and adjusting the therapy to be highly personal to you. Sessions can be in clinic or by Skype and the therapist will analyse your language patterns beforehand requiring you to journal about your phobia, thought patterns or anxiety experience.

What It Feels Like

Hypnosis is very relaxing, allowing you to zone out from the usual noise inside your mind and giving you an increased sense of awareness, very similar to doing a really deep meditation.

It’s actually an everyday TRANCE. The therapist will then invite you into a very deep relaxation or ‘a state of hypnosis’ – we actually go into these natural trances all the time. When we daydream, drive, multitask or just get absorbed into our imagination. It might sound scary but it’s really just a state of HYPER awareness or focus. Most say it feels like the moment you are floating in a peaceful bubble just before you sleep or a very deep yoga nidra or meditation state. We know from contemporary neuroscience that in this state, different areas of the brain light up and become active.

You are completely free to move and talk at your will, always in control. Despite what you may have seen on TV, you won’t be made to do anything you don't want to, and your therapist will speak to you throughout, skilfully guiding you and placing agreed suggestions and language into your subconscious mind.

The experience, of course, is different for everyone, and the depth of the hypnotic trance will depend on your willingness to receive the language and not resist. Many people say that it helps answers come to them much more effortlessly than normal. Whatever happens, your mind will take you to whatever place it needs to go to make a lasting powerful change, harnessing the power of your own mind.

How It Can Help

Hypnotherapy can help with so many different things - anxiety, insomnia, appetite balancing, healing from trauma, confidence building or even stopping smoking.

As touched upon before, it does this by tapping into your unconscious mind, where it can plant new ideas and thoughts at a much deeper level. It puts your mind and body into a heightened state of learning, making you more susceptible to suggestions for self-improvement and giving your subconscious and conscious mind a greater sense of harmony.

Ironically, sleep deprivation leads to weight gain. The reason? ‘During sleep, levels of ghrelin, the so-called hunger hormone, decrease, because we require less energy to sleep,’ says Natalie Pennicotte-Collier, sleep ‘super coach’ and therapist to elite athletes, including Team GB. ‘People who don’t sleep enough end up with too much ghrelin in their system.’ Disrupted nights also leads to a decrease in leptin, the hormone that tells the body when it’s full, Pennicotte-Collier adds. ‘Sleep-deprived bodies cry out for more food. If you have more than a year of five hours’ sleep or less a night, you could gain 10-15lbs.’ But our hormones themselves can be responsible for our poor sleep: if we’re stressed, with raised cortisol levels, our bodies find it impossible to switch off. And so the cycle continues. Pennicotte-Collier recommends sticking to the same bedtime and wake-up time, even on the weekends, to regulate your sleep and give your hormones a fighting chance.

I am delighted to have been asked to represent the Mental Wealth movement in supporting and engaging the next generation with REAL Mindful living . Over days of expert Insight and Workshops. Please do join us ..Friday 2nd June '17

Karen and Natalie have been empowering the next generation and are passionate about the Mind & Body connection. As a Team GB MindCoach and Mental Wealth Practioner Natalie there is so much that YOU can do, to take control and educate yourself. To celebrate Mental Health Awareness Week, ahead of their June event at Bhuti in Richmond on 11th June – they wanted to share some wellbeing insight supporting YOU to amplify your Mental Wealth.

Wellbeing Insight

Dial up your breath for wellbeing power.

We take 20,000 breaths a day - Imagine the powerful wellbeing benefits if we could supercharge 3 mins of them each day?

Practicing deep focused and purposeful breathing for even a few mins a day supercharges your mind & body with oxygen on a cellular level. The breath is our best friend for an immediate anti panic focus and sooths your nervous system. It also helps your THINK with more clarity and perhaps more rationally

Start being a master of your breath. Check out 7/11 breathing, it's an oldie but goody and even athletes train their breath to help calm them and energise or amplify their performance.

UNPLUG - It's so important to think about safeguarding your Mental Wealth to catch signs early and really NOTICE how you are feeling. One of the ways you can do this is to research the overwhelming compelling evidence for Mindfulness. Be curious and look up your preferred mindful moment.

Choose fearless. See it and believe it.

Remember that your mind is everything ‘Change your thoughts, change your world'. Make it a routine to check in with yourself. It could be every Sunday night or every night even.

What would you do – if you knew you couldn't fail? Write it down; acknowledge it and feel empowered to one-day reach your goal? The only thing that's holding you back is YOU. Don't forget the power of visualisation. Picture yourself overcoming your FEAR? What do you look like, how do you stand? Is your body language different, what would you be feeling, pride and power? Visualise yourself 100% more confident. 100% Fearless. This really works. Get Inspired and get involved in YOUR journey, what better gift to yourself to be curious about the ways you can take control of your mind, be your own coach, your way .

A balanced MIND + BODY needs MOOD ENHANCING FOOD

Nutrition plays a significant role in how we feel too. When you feel down, do you reach for a bar of chocolate or an apple? I highly suspect it's not the latter? There is so much evidence nowadays linking diet and mental health and it's something we shouldn't neglect.

Recent research I've read proved that those suffering with mental health issues eat fewer fruit and veg than those who do not report daily mental problems. They are far more inclined to eat unhealthy food like crisps, chocolate, takeaways etc. Which makes sense really. Who thinks about a punnet of strawberries when they're upset? We probably wish we did! Achieving a balanced mood can be supported by making sure that our diet provides adequate amounts of complex carbohydrates, essential fats, amino acids, vitamins and minerals and water.

The recipe below incorporates a lot of these key nutrients. Karen doesn't claim to be an expert but comes at it from a personal perspective. She has made these changes in her life and hopes that if you're struggling, you can find some encouragement to make a change that ultimately makes you a happier person again.

To celebrate MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK and support the conversation we have partnered with our Wellbeing partners to share some Mental Wealth Insights

This week I have been empowering another 500+ pupils, the next generation in schools with my CalmerRama Roadshow. I am passionate about the Mind & Body connection. I know as a Team GB MindCoach and Mental wealth Practioner there is so much that YOU can do, to take control and educate yourself.

Please check back later this week for details of our partnerships and how you can get involved.

It sounds simple but learning how to BREATHE PROPERLY is key - Take time to really focus on your breathing before, and during the activity. For example, if you are playing tennis, make sure to relax your body and breathe deeply between points. Before a race focus on your breath and performance, and block everything else out. You will be amazed by the difference in the way that you feel, and the way that you perform. Practice this self-hypnosis technique every day for best results.

Visualise your success beforehandFootballers, golfers and others sportspeople regularly use self-hypnosis and visualisation to mentally prepare themselves before a competition. By seeing themselves succeeding, they are able to condition their brains into believing that they can do so.

Win or no win, before a big sporting event, see yourself beating your own personal goals, performing to the best of your ability and enjoying every minute. Close your eyes, breathe deeply and visualise performing at your best. Do this regularly in the run up to your competition event.

Imagine the sights and sounds that you would experience at a game, and really focus on bringing them forward in your mind, making them as clear and realistic as possible. Whether it’s the cheer of the crowd that spurs you on, the rush of endorphins brought on through exercise or just a healthy competitive streak that drives you, take these positive feelings to inspire you before an event.

A quote by Novak Djokovic sums this up for me: “In order to win against Rafa or Roger, you have to believe… there is no other way.” Before his Grand Slam wins at the Australian Open, French Open, US Open and Wimbledon, Djokovic already thought of himself as a champion. Confidence in his abilities, a great training regime and a complete focus on his goals made it a reality.